In her new memoir, Brave, McGowan graphically recounts her alleged 1997 experience with the movie mogul at the Sundance Film Festival, saying he stripped her of her clothes, pushed her into a Jacuzzi and forcibly performed oral sex on her while masturbating.

"As a general matter, Harvey Weinstein and his attorneys have refrained from publicly criticizing any of the women who have made allegations of sexual assault against Mr. Weinstein despite a wealth of evidence that would demonstrate the patent falsity of these claims," said Weinstein lawyer Ben Brafman in a statement to USA TODAY.

"Watching the 'performance' by Rose McGowan as she looks to promote her new book however, has made it impossible to remain quiet as she tries to smear Mr. Weinstein with a bold lie that is denied not only by Mr. Weinstein himself, but by at least two witnesses, including Ms. McGowan's own manager at the time who Ms. McGowan claims to have confided in the day after the alleged assault, and an A-list actor Ben Affleck who Ms. McGowan claims to have also told about her encounter with Mr. Weinstein shortly after the incident she now describes as 'rape,' but which in 1997 she described to her manager as a 'consensual' act of sex."

McGowan responded swiftly on Twitter, and on Wednesday her rep, Adam Kersh, fired back in a statement to USA TODAY that "the 'performance' is (Weinstein) and his complicity machine, and they are bad actors."

to step on your fat neck for all time #HarveyWeinstein. I WILL SAY YOUR NAME. It is you whi did this to us. THIEF! And to all of you scoundrels aiding predators you are damned for the hurt you’ve caused. We reject your social lies. Name it. Shame it. Call it out. #CitizenRose

"Yesterday's statement from Mr. Weinstein and his attorney Ben Brafman unequivocally proves a continued attempt to malign, smear and 'slut shame' Rose McGowan," the statement said.

It continued: "It is an affront not only to Rose but to the hundreds of women who have come forward with their stories of harassment, sexual abuse and rape perpetrated by Mr. Weinstein and those like him. This is a sad, pathetic old-fashioned sexist attempt to undermine obvious truth and the gaslighting will no longer be tolerated."

In Brave, McGowan implies she told Ben Affleck, then her co-star in Phantoms, about the assault at the festival. Affleck allegedly replied: “(Expletive) it. I told him to stop doing that.”

Weinstein's lawyer says both Affleck and McGowan's former manager, Jill Messick, sent emails denying the interaction to his client.

"Ben Affleck expressed the following in an email to Mr. Weinstein, 'She never told me nor did I ever infer that she was attacked by anyone. Any accounts to the contrary are false. I have no knowledge about anything Rose did or claimed to have done.' "

The lawyer continued, "In an email to Mr. Weinstein regarding the encounter, Jill Messick says the following, “When we met up the following day, she hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done.”

Now McGowan says such emails have "already been disproven — by Affleck himself on the Today show in a statement of support for Rose ("I believe Rose, I support her") in November of 2017 and by Ms. Messicks' then-assistant Anne Woodward as reported in the New York Times last October."

Team Rose adds that the communication "clearly proves Mr. Weinstein was on a fishing expedition to target and coerce potential witnesses three months prior to when the first allegations of rape surfaced in the media."

To date, 84 women have come forward with accusations against Weinstein. He has repeatedly denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

The New York Times reported last fall that Weinstein reached a settlement for $100,000 with McGowan, then 23, after the Sundance Film Festival incident. Weinstein said the settlement was "not to be construed as an admission" but a way to avoid court. After the Times and New Yorker stories on Weinstein last fall, McGowan claimed "HW raped me" in a series of tweets to Amazon head Jeff Bezos.

On Wednesday McGowan's rep said that Weinstein's "attempts to discredit Rose is part of his 20 year long campaign to silence her, clearly proving he IS the monster so many women have described him to be."

A rep for Affleck did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

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Artist/activist/executive producer Rose McGowan of 'Citizen Rose' on 'E!' speaks onstage during the NBCUniversal portion of the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. McGowan has come out as a lead accuser of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Rose McGowan gives opening remarks to the audience at the Women's March/Women's Convention in Detroit. A stream of actress including Rose McGowan, models and ex-employees have come out, many anonymously, to accuse Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and abuse dating as far back as the 1990s.
RENA LAVERTY/AFP/Getty Images

McGowan hugs Tarana Burke (right) the creator of #MeToo, as she was being introduced to the stage during Fighting for Survivors of Sexual Assault in the Age of Betsy DeVos during The Women's Convention at Cobo Center.
Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press/USA TODAY NETWORK

Rose McGowan, left, waves after being introduced by Tarana Burke, right, founder, #MeToo Campaign. McGowan recently went public with her allegation that film company co-founder Harvey Weinstein raped her.
Paul Sancya/AP

While the Me Too and Time's Up movement heated up, McGowan had to return to Loudoun County, Va. regarding charges of possession of a controlled substance. The felony charge stems from a police investigation of personal belongings left behind on a Jan. 20 flight that arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Police say the items tested positive for narcotics. This booking mug was released on Nov. 14, 2017 by the County Sheriff's Office.
Loudoun County Sheriff's Office via AP

Jennifer Aniston and Rose McGowan pose for a selfie during the CAKE party for Jennifer Aniston hosted by Perrier-Jouet And Cinelou Films at Chateau Marmont's Bar Marmont on Dec. 5, 2014, in Hollywood, Calif.
Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for Cinelou

Davey Detail and Rose McGowan were married on Oct. 12, 2013. However they divorced after three years in Nov. 2016. They're seen in this 2014 file photo at the Art Of Elysium's 7th annual Pieces Of Heaven at Siren Studios in Hollywood.
Mike Windle/Getty Images for Art of Elysium

In this Jan. 27, 2010 file photo, actress Rose McGowan arrives at a premiere of 'When In Rome' in Los Angeles. In 1997, McGowan, then 23, reached a financial settlement with Harvey Weinstein after an incident in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, according to a legal document reviewed by 'The New York Times.'
Dan Steinberg/AP

McGowan, right, and director Robert Rodriguez, left, pose for the media prior to the presentation of their film 'Planet Terror,' at the 60th International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, on Aug. 5, 2007.
MARTIAL TREZZINI/AP

Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan were engaged between 2006-2009. They arrive, in 2007, at the Festival Palace in Cannes, for the screening of Quentin Tarantino's film 'Death Proof' at the 60th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES